It Made All the Difference
by Byakusharinnegan
Summary: Who knew a change of poison and a earlier realization could spell victory many times over?


**I got one of those plot bunnies that randomly popped into my head after watching the Chiyo-Sakura-Sasori battle and silently fuming over the victory. So I decided to write about what might have happened had Sasori noticed Chiyo controlling Sakura earlier and/or had switched his poison choice. And that leads the something that I always have wanted to read about: The nine bijuu all sealed.**

**It's catergorized as angst since I can't exactly find a better category. And a warning, Sakura lovers, leave. Now. Well, actually if you hate seeing Konoha people die, then you should leave. Since just about everyone dies.**

* * *

His grandmother and that little girl really were foolish people.

Sasori chuckled. His spy had warned him of the fact that the little pink-haired girl was a medic-nin, and a very good one at that, having been trained by Tsunade-hime of the Sannin herself. His spy had also said that Pinky, who's name was Sakura (quite a fitting name at that) had also created an antidote for his poison and would probably be bringing some with her.

They were foolish, really. He used a different poison nearly every battle. But to take out a miniature Slug Princess and his dear grandmother...he'd need something more...potent. Something more potent that the usual, kill-in-three-days poison he so loved to use.

Something like _that_ poison. The poison which he called "Hell." It was a tricky little thing. He had spent 3 years of his missing-nin life gathering the necessary ingredients and mixing them together, and another year or so finding victims of various constitutions to test them on. The result was the same; the victim died within five minutes, often writhing in what was obviously unimaginable pain.

It was perfect. Dear Grandma Chiyo's skill would make his puppet collection simple wonderful. A puppet controlling puppets...he thought. And paused. That was really what he was, a puppet, but it was different. And Pinky, with her strength...if he could harness that, it would be like having a little Tsunade in his power.

All they were going through all that to try and save the Godaime Kazekage. Sasori managed another little chuckle as he glanced at the comatose-and-very-nearly-dead Ichibi Jinchuriki. They should know already, this jutsu would kill the container. Perhaps it was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, spies had repeatedly commented on how the blond managed to convince others to his way of thinking.

How very amusing. The blond also seemed to care greatly for his female teammate, Pinky. He briefly wondered what it would be like if the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was forced to fight his beloved little girlfriend. The sensei as well.

Ah. Hatake Kakashi, son of Konoha's White Fang and known as Copy Ninja Kakashi. Sasori scowled briefly at the thought of the White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, who had killed his parents. Even if those bonds were broken, Sasori still felt some hatred. He mentally shrugged. It was normal, he supposed.

Another chuckle escaped him. It would be rather ironic, wouldn't it, if he managed to erase from existence the son of the murderer of his parents? Perhaps it would be like the story of the Senju and Uchiha, two clans who's descendants always fought.

He, just like everyone else, could sense the sudden vibration that went through the area. It seemed the Konoha people had arrived. The clue Itachi gave him wasn't as helpful as he would have likes, but it would do.

He sat there with Deidara (misguided artist that Deidara was, he still was useful) and waited for the ninjas to figure out how to break in. He usually hated waiting, but not now. He could wait...after all, why hurry when you will get there no matter what?

The large boulder in front crashed down. Ah. Pinky had broken that boulder. Truly a Tsunade right there. Even now he could see the Kyuubi Jinchuriki getting riled up to the point where he was leaking Kyuubi chakra, but Deidara had led him away, the Hatake following after.

He sighed and readied himself for his dear old grandmother and Pinky.

Truly, they were all fools, weren't they? Fools living in a far too complicated world. Fools trying to find a meaning in this world, trying to find out why this was this and that was that. Why some died but others lived. Well, he'd simplify it to them.

Survival of the fittest. It was always like it. It would always be like that. The concept was eternal. Just like art.

It was time to add Puppets Number 299 and 300.

* * *

Sakura collapsed on the floor, hacking and coughing out enough blood that it was dangerous. Moments later, Chiyo-baa-sama fell beside her, lying limp and motionless after what seemed like an endless period of painful thrashing. Chiyo's plan with chakra threads didn't work from the start, it was only by luck that they had managed to survive this far.

She hadn't even had to break Hiruko. Sasori had evidently thought this fight very amusing and had come out, shocking Chiyo with his unchanged self. Then, he had proceeded to show off the Sandaime Kazekage before resealing the puppet, saying that he alone was enough. The battle didn't last much longer after that.

He had struck Chiyo with a poison needle, and even though Chiyo had taken the antidote, it wasn't working. Sakura had quickly realized that Sasori had changed his poison, but she wasn't able to stay still long enough to analyze the poison.

"My, my..." Sasori said as he walked across to Chiyo. Sakura tried to summon up enough strength to punch him. She did. But Sasori quickly reassembled himself and picked up the dead elder.

"You put up quite the fight for your age, _dear_ _grandmother_." The last few words were said in a mocking tone and Sasori meticulously brushed the blood from Chiyo's face.

"Can't have your sking being too blemished, can we?"

"Y-You...bastard!" gasped out Sakura and she weakly flung a fist at him. Sasori caught it easily and drove a poison-coated needle into her neck.

"Good-bye, Haruno Sakura. And hello, Puppet #300."

Sasori quickly prepared Chiyo and Sakura for puppetry. He equipped both of them with basic hidden weapons before sealing Chiyo away to work on later. His grandmother had been skilled and deserved a hidden arsenal worthy of her experience. As for Pinky here...

Sasori smirked as, with a flick of his finger, Puppet #300 raced across the water and struck the wall, taking down a good half off it. After inspecting it closely, he was slightly amazed to learn that the hands were literally unharmed.

Good. Now was the time to help that brat.

* * *

Deidara scowled. It was as if Jashin/Kami/Whatever god that existed seemed to be mocking him. So far, everyone he fought was trying to warp away/completely obliterate his arms. It made sense, but still, it was annoying. So now, he was stuck on his bird, unable to do anything but stick to it with chakra and control it as the bird circled in loops and more loops, avoiding that blasted Sharingan and the blond clones the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was continuously spamming out of nowhere.

Shit. Now the damn Hatake was leaping at him, using the same blasted jutsu he had heard Itachi's little brother used. Sasori-no-danna's spies had their uses.

The Hatake was sent abruptly to the ground by a pink-haired woman. Deidara vaguely remembered it as the Kyuubi container's teammate. Looking closer, he could see that Pinky was a puppet. A pity, and perhaps ironic, he thought, that the Kyuubi container couldn't figure it out. Instead, the blond turned to Pinky, confused, and Pinky went behind him. Of course, blond trusted Pinky, so it wasn't that hard to knock the Kyuubi container out. Sasori calmly stepped out, having sealed away Hiruko. It was rather refreshing to be out himself again.

"Sasori-no-danna, you bastard, hmm. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki was my target."

Sasori waved it off dismissively, ignoring the fact it was actually Itachi's and turned his attention to the unconscious Naruto.

"What do you think we should do with him, hmm?"

"He's bound to wake up at sometime."

"Then why don't you use your poison, hmm? You've got to have _something_ that doesn't kill."

"Yes, but the Kyuubi will just neutralize it."

"Good point, hmm. How about Itachi? I'd bet Tsukiyomi would work, hmm."

"Maybe..."

* * *

In the end, Tsukiyomi worked better than most, and kept the Jinchuriki out cold for quite some time. During the week-and-a-half the Kyuubi container was out, Bijuu capturing went into overdrive. Hidan and Kakuzu were told to capture the Nibi and Nanabi (as the seven-tail was in possession of the Waterfall Village and Kakuzu was formerly a Waterfall nin), Itachi and Kisame went for the Yonbi and Gobi, and Leader allowed Sasori and Deidara a bit of rest by having them capture the Sanbi. Leader himself went to locate the Rokubi and capture it.

They were all sealed in a month. After that, the Akatsuki simply disappeared. No reports of sightings were found. For Kumo, this only had the Raikage to increase security to save his brother from the same fate as Yugito. For Konoha, it was still a frantic rush to find Naruto. The Godaime Kazekage's body hadn't been found either, it was said, and the only people who returned were the Copy Ninja and Team Gai. There was no sight of the Godaime Hokage's student or Jiraiya-sama's student, the Kyuubi Jinchuriki.

Rumors circled that they had been ordered to kill the Suna elder, and, to make it realistic, they had killed the Hokage's student and forced the Kyuubi Jinchuriki into hiding to protect it from other villages. This rumor was soon getting more realistic as the Copy Ninja began to drink. People whispered to others, See that? That's Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja. The blood on his hands has gotten to his head.

Deidara couldn't help but laugh at the information that was given. Next to him, Sasori was also chuckling. Didn't anyone know? In addition to Chiyo and Sakura, Sasori had also taken advantage of the Godaime Kazekage's ability to control sand and made a puppet out of _him,_ too. It was a pity, though, that they couldn't get to the Yondaime Kazekage's body before it decayed. That had been necessary for Suna to see, but it was a loss.

A gold-dust user...Sasori sighed and decided to take what he had. He was improving his grandmother. Already most of the human resemblence was gone, the skin replaced with wood. The outer shell still looked reminiscent of Chiyo, but on the inside...

Poison weapons were everywhere, along with a few special explosive tags that would explode and release poison gas. It was probably the most advanced system he had. Which reminded him...

As soon as Sasori finished Chiyo, he improved all his puppets. All 302 of them, including himself.

* * *

Kakashi sighed as Tsunade briefed them on the mission report. What was left of the Konoha 12 and their senseis (namely, Kurenai, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Gai, Lee, Tenten, Neji, and Kakashi) were being sent on a mission to the Akatsuki. This mission was to once the Konoha spies located Akatsuki's hideout.

A mission to retake Naruto if possible, kill Naruto if not.

Of course, they had second thoughts, and Hinata protested against killing Naruto. But a few choice words from Hokage-sama silenced her.

"B-but why should we kill Naruto-kun? I-if we can save him..." Hinata had said.

Tsunade shook her head. "If we can save him, great, save him. If we can't, kill him."

"B-but Hokage-sama-"

"Silence. If we can't save him, either way, Naruto will die. One by us killing him, the other by the Akatsuki taking the Kyuubi and then killing him."

Hinata backed down, but she was obviously against all this.

* * *

It was on the third day of the week that Kumo reported the Hachibi Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, missing. 2 days after that, Akatsuki's hideout was located, and Operation Naruto began.

Every single one of them was hoping to save Naruto and not to kill him, but the older jounins, those who had been in the wars, knew better. When push came to shove, they were expected to shove back.

* * *

Sasori gave a quiet laugh as they sensed the arrival of the teams. Foolish, really. They were already on day 3 of the Kyuubi sealing...Leader-sama's six bodies had come for the sake of it, along with the masked man who called himself Uchiha Madara. He saw Itachi's slight flinch, but supposed it was due to the fact that this Madara had helped Itachi kill the Uchiha clan.

_Now, little Konoha ninjas, how will you get it? Your dear little Tsunade apprentice,_ Sasori mused as he flipped through his scrolls, _is mine. Perhaps I should use it?_

"Sasori-no-danna. You're planning to use the Pinky, aren't you? Hmm." said Deidara.

"Indeed..."

The boulder that was blocking the entrance was destroyed. Interesting. Two Hyuugas had managed to break it. He took note of the girl and boy, the boy with a hitaite around his forehead and the other with one around her neck. Ah. A member of the Main House. Perhaps he should take that girl, he didn't have a Hyuuga yet. And a puppet capable of blocking the opponent's tenketsu...Sasori chuckled and fixed his eyes on the Hyuuga, carefully analyzing her. The Branch member sensed this and moved in front of the Main House member.

And then everyone charged.

Sasori let loose Chiyo and Sakura. For a split seconds, they all paused at the sight of the pink-haired puppet, obviously horror-struck at the thought of their dear friend turned into a puppet. A pause that would cost them their lives.

With a few flicks of his finger, Chiyo's mouth opened and, with the help of Kakuzu, brought down more than half of them. He made sure to strike them in areas that would kill but would not damage them too greatly.

Hm.

His winnings were a Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, a weapons-specialist (that would be quite useful), two taijutsu specialists, and an Aburame, all twitching in pain. It was a pity he couldn't use the Aburame, the bugs inside them had died as the user died. It was a technique that stopped other villages from acquiring their skills.

The Inuzuka suddenly seemed to grow angrier. Well, that was expected since his teammate died, but why-

Oh.

Uchiha. Of course. The best genjutsu specialists were often no match for an Uchiha fully capable of the Sharingan. Itachi had brought that red-eyed woman down in an instant.

The Inuzuka transformed with his pet, and both charged at Itachi. Kisame stepped in and brutally slashed them to pieces. No loss. He already had an Inuzuka and dog already. Sasori went over and dragged his now-dead prizes away, leaving Deidara to defend them as he quickly treated the bodies so they would not decay before sealing them away.

Not many members had left the sealing; the ones that did had already given their chakra. Sasori's spies had warned him, so those designated to fight had spent more chakra and then rested. The Uchiha was obviously tired, his illness taking over, so Kisame took it upon himself to keep the Konoha nins away from his partner.

Now...who was left?

A Hatake, two Hyuugas...

Sasori turned to the people fighting, namely, him, Deidara, Itachi, and Kisame.

"I want the Main House Hyuuga and the Hatake."

"Ah, going for a Hyuuga puppet, Sasori-no-danna? Hmm."

Sasori smirked. "Of course. I don't have a Hyuuga yet."

The Branch member immediately moved to cover the Main House member. The Main House member stole a glance at the Kyuubi Jinchurki. Sasori smiled.

Ah. Love-struck, wasn't she? Well. Sasori considered using one of his Jinchurki puppets. Perhaps Ichibi would be useful.

**(Ichibi refers to the One-Tail container, namely, Gaara.)**

Uchiha and Kisame had run forward, Uchiha providing backup while Kisame slashed with his sword. Deidara circled around the Hyuugas, obviously amused.

"Now, now. Should I blow you up, or let Sasori-no-danna do so? Hmm."

"Blow up the Branch member, Deidara. I'll take care of the Main House."

* * *

Thud.

The sound came as the Uchiha and Kisame walked over and flung the dead-by-hit-to-the-neck Hatake at his feet. Sasori let out a smile as he examined Kakashi, ignoring the horrified gasp that came from the Main House Hyuuga, the only survivor. She fell to her knees, unable to accept the fact that everyone was dead. Sasori ignored her and allowed her to sit there in shock and he prepared the Hatake, taking care not to damage the Sharingan eye. It would be the closest he got to an Uchiha, anyways. Then, as the rest of Akatsuki finished sealing the Kyuubi, Sasori filled his Konoha prizes with weapons and poisons. The weapon specialist was especially useful, with scrolls filled with so many weapons.

The dead body of Uzumaki Naruto flopped to the ground. Sasori attacked strings to it and walked Naruto over to Hinata, who stared up in open-mouth horror.

"How do you like it, Main Branch Hyuuga? Your precious demon container...dead?"

He was forced to dodge a chakra infused jab that would've taken his head off.

"D-Don't you dare...call Naruto-kun...a demon! Guah!" she gasped out as Dead Naruto picked her up.

"Why don't you join him in the grave?"

An hour later, a fully equipped Hyuuga puppet was up and working.

* * *

The council of Konoha sat in silence. Out of the Naruto Retrieval/Kill Team, none had survived and there were reports of all but the Aburame, Branch Hyuuga, and Yuuhi Kurenai being turned into puppets.

Hiashi was hit the hardest. His nephew was killed, and his daughter turned into a puppet. His daughter was a Main House member as well, and therefore extremely valuable. It had been confirmed that Sakura was a puppet and the ANBU of the squad of 20 that had been sent as backup (before being obliberated except one) reported that the former Jinchuriki were also puppets.

The poison was determined, however. A poison created by mixing specific amounts of poisons together. Usually, this made an antidote to poisons, but add exactly one-fourth drop more of liquid nightshade and you had pretty much one of the most potent and painful poisons ever that had a weakness so large it was usually unseen.

If the victim drank water within the first 10 seconds, he'd survive.

Tsunade repeatedly punch her desk. This poison had destroyed all that she held dear to her. Now, as she stared up at the revived Juubi which was about to crush Konoha once and for all, she didn't care anymore.

Kill me, please.

* * *

**I think this was a very depressing story, but I had to write it. One of those writing urges people get. Oh well.**

**I should start updating Konoha Mishaps and Three Year Legacy, but I'm stuck with writer's block for the first and lack of communication _and_ writer's block for the second.**

**I'll go drink cappuccino. Maybe that'll help.**

**Byaku~**


End file.
